Automatic moistening device for brooms.



A. B. LOTSTROM. AUTOMATIC MOISTENINGDEVHE FOR BBOOMS.

APPL'fIUATION rum) NOV.11. 190

Patented June 8, 1909.

ALEXANDER E. LOTSTROM, OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON. AUTOMATIC MOISTENING DEVICE FQR BROOMS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed November 11, 1908.

No. 924,253. Patented June 8, 1909.

Serial No. 462,163.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER E. Lor- STROM, citizen of the United States, residing at Edmonds, in the county of Snohomish and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Moistening Devices for Brooms, of which the following is a specification.

The invention contemplates the construction and arrangement of a moistening device designed to be carried by a broom and has for its principal object the prevention of dust dispersement incident to the sweeping action of a broom upon a carpet or surface in which or upon which dirt has accumulated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple, compact and durable device, easily applied or removed from a broom and which when applied will not add materially to the weight of the broom or appreciably increase the laborious character of the sweeping movements of the operator.

The invention consistsin a reservoir or receptacle adapted to be applied over the head of the broom, around the broom handle, and extending downward around the broom head, and engaging the broom head to prevent the withdrawal of the receptacle, the receptacle being used in combination with a cap of fibrous material which surrounds the broom head and distributes the water over the surface of the broom.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquirea knowledge of the details of construction and the means for effecting the result, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device in position upon a broom Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view; and Fig. 3 is an end view thereof.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The numeral 1 designates a broom of ordinary construction and 2 the handle around which the moistening device is designed to fit at the intersection of the said handle and broom head 3.

The moistening device consists of an outer casing or shell 4, preferably conical in formation as shown, and constructed of any de sired material best adapted to contain water without deterioration from rust or the action I of other moistening agents. An inner tube 5 through which the broom handle 2 protrudes is secured to the upper converging extremity of the casing 4- as indicated at 6, and extends within said casing partially its length. The lower end of said tube ner side of the casing by a disk 7 slightly deflected from the lower extremity of the tube to conform with the shape of the broom head. The disk 7 may be integrally a part of the tube 5 soldered or otherwise secured to the inner side of the casing 4, or independent of both as above specified and secured to said tube and casing in any desired manner.

The sides of the casing 5 below the disk 7 are adapted to form a cap for the broom head as indicated at 8, and oppositely arranged slots or openings 9 formed therein serve to produce sufficient elasticity in the material to hold the device in close proximity to the broom and prevent movement thereof during the sweeping operation. A reservoir 11 designed to contain water or other moistening agent is formed between the casing 4 and the inner tube 5, and the disk 7 constituting the bottom or end closure of said reservoir is provided with oppositely arranged holes or outlets 12 located immediately above the edges of the broom head and through which the contents of the reservoir is distributed in sufiicient quantity to moisten the broom.

The casing 4 is provided with an opening 13 located near the upper or converging extremity thereof, and said opening is designed as an inlet by which the reservoir is filled with the moistening agent, and an elastic band 14 extending around said casing is adapted to form an air tight closure for the opening and prevent the unrestricted flow of the reservoir contents through the openings or outlets 12. The closure preferably consists of the elastic band as illustrated, but a cork or other form of stopper (not shown) may be substituted or employed to completely shut off the pressure of the air and thus retard the leakage of the moistening agent from the reservoir.

A fabric cap 15 adapted to regulate the distribution of the moistening agent upon the broom is placed around the broom head intermediate the broom and extended sides 8 of the casing4, and said cap is principally designed for use when sweeping carpets.

In the practical operation of the device, the broom 1 should be first dampened so that is secured to inthe flow of water or liquid from the reservoir i will be even and continuous, following a well I known law of capillary attraction. The reservoir or receptacle is then filled with water or liquid through the valved inlet 13 and the sweeping action or movement of the broom will cause sufficient leakage of the liquid through the outlets 12 to wet the broom (not the floor or carpet) and prevent the dispersement of dust.

The fabric cap 15 serves as a distributer or regulator for the moistening agent and is principally designed to prevent excessive flow of water or liquid upon the broom which might tend to mark or otherwise damage the carpet, and when used it is preferably 1nois- 1 tened before being placed in position.

By reference to the drawings, it will be seen that the device is designed to slide on or off the broom handle, and when placed in an operative posit-ion the slotted sides 8 of the casing 4 encircle the broom head and securely hold the device against the sweeping move- I ment of the broonr Owing to the action of the air within the reservoir the water or liquid therein will not flow through the open- I ings or outlets 12 when the broom is not in use, such flow as before stated resulting from the sweeping action or movement of the broom, as will be understood.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A moistening attachment for brooms, comprising a receptacle adapted to contain water and encircle the broom at the intersection of the handle with the head, in com- 'bination with a cap of textile material adapted to surround the head of the broom and extending down below the lower edge of the receptacle, said cap acting to evenly distribute the contents of said receptacle on the broom.

2. An attachn'ient for brooms, comprising a conical flattened receptacle having an inlet opening in its upper end and a closure therefor, said receptacle having an outer wall an inner tubular wall adapted to surround a broom handle, and an annular perforated bottom, the outer wall extending down below said. bottom and having on each side a transversely extending slot adapted to engage with the protruding portion of the head of a broom, in combination with a cap of fibrous material surrounding the head of the broom and having a portion extending up within the central tubular wall, said cap extending down below the lower edge of the receptacle.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER E. LO'lS'lROM [1,. 3.1 \Vitnesses D. M. Yos'r, H. S. EVANS. 

